On a day Jalen Hurts didn't have his best performance, the MVP candidate still delivered when his football team needed it most. Hurts threw for 315 yards and rushed for three touchdowns to lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a 25-20 victory over the Chicago Bears. Philly can clinch the NFC East and the conference's No. 1 overall seed with a victory over the Dallas Cowboys next week.
Dallas lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars, putting the Eagles up three games on the Cowboys with three games to play and the head-to-head tiebreaker in hand. The Eagles are one win away from wrapping up the division.
Hurts threw two interceptions, both in the first half. He overcame the rough start only to tie a career high with three rushing touchdowns, while also making some clutch throws to DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown to help Philadelphia escape Chicago with a victory. Hurts finished 21 of 36 for 303 yards with two interceptions (62.6 rating), but also had 15 carries for 63 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
Hurts scored all three Eagles touchdowns on the day, and sealed the game with a completion to A.J. Brown on third-and-6 with two minutes to play. Brown finished with nine catches for 181 yards, including a 68-yard catch on third down in the fourth quarter that set up the game-deciding touchdown for Philadelphia.
Justin Fields had a day for the Bears, becoming just the third quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards in a season -- leading Chicago with 15 carries for 95 yards. Fields also was 14 of 21 for 152 yards and two touchdowns (119.5 rating) in the loss.
DeVonta Smith had five catches for 126 yards for the Eagles, his second 100-yard receiving performance in the last three games. Hurts also became just the third player since 1950 with 300 passing yards and three rushing TDs in a game, joining Dak Prescott (2020) and Jack Kemp (1963).
Here are our takeaways from the game.
Why the Eagles won
A.J. Brown was the game-changing receiver once again when the Eagles needed him most. Brown finished with a career-high 181 yards in the victory, but had four catches for 98 yards in the fourth quarter. Brown's highlight catch as a 68-yard reception from Jalen Hurts on third-and-6 from the Eagles' own 29-yard line with 5:35 to play -- taking Philadelphia down to the Chicago 3-yard line (it led to a touchdown and a 25-13 lead).
Brown also sealed the win with a 12-yard catch on third-and-6 with two minutes left, giving the Eagles a first down as the Bears had no time outs remaining. When the Eagles needed Brown to come up with big plays, he did -- just like he has all season.
Why the Bears lost
The Bears defense didn't have an answer for Jalen Hurts or A.J. Brown in the second half, allowing Hurts to correct his two interceptions from earlier in the game. Brown had seven catches for 156 yards in the second half for the Eagles, becoming the ultimate security blanket for Hurts to get the quarterback back to MVP level.
Hurts was 14 of 21 for 176 yards in the second half (92.6 rating), but rushed for two touchdowns in the final 30 minutes. The Eagles also converted 60% of their third downs as the Bears couldn't get off the field.
The Hurts and Brown show took over. Chicago couldn't stop it.
Turning point
Hurts led the Eagles on a nine-play, 91-yard scoring drive just before the half as the Eagles trailed 6-3 when the Bears decided to punt form the Philadelphia 31-yard line. Hurts went 3 of 4 for 47 yards on the drive, including a 38-yard strike to DeVonta Smith.
The play of the drive was a 22-yard touchdown run by Hurts on third-and-8, when the Bears blitzed as the Eagles called Hurts' number for the easy touchdown. That score gave Philadelphia the lead for good and set the tone for the second half.
Why did the Bears punt from the Eagles' 31-yard line? Cairo Sanders declined to kick a 49-yard field goal in harsh, chilly weather with the wind taking effect on the potential kick. Basically, Santos wasn't going to make the kick so the Bears played the field position game instead of going for it.
Play of the game
Jalen Hurts threw a perfect deep ball to A.J. Brown on third-and-6 form the Eagles' own 29-yard line, connecting with his No. 1 wide receiver for a 68-yard gain that ended up at the Bears' 3-yard line. A perfect throw resulted in an even better catch.
One crazy aspect of this play was Brown was brought down by Bears safety Jaquan Brisker. Heck of a play by Brisker to prevent the touchdown.
The quote
"He just controls what he can control. He can't control a bad play earlier and he moves on to the next play. That's just who this guy is....He continues to put himself in the moment, learn from the past, and try to repeat the good things and get better from the things he messed up. He's completely in the moment and that's what great players do."
-- Nick Sirianni on Jalen Hurts rebounding from two interceptions in the first half to throw for over 300 yards and rush for three touchdowns.
Up next
The Eagles (11-3) travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys (10-4) Saturday with an opportunity to wrap up the NFC East and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs with a victory. The Bears (3-11) host the Bills (11-3) on Saturday as well.